Research School of Earth Sciences Annual Report 2009
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Research School of Earth Sciences Annual Report 2009 Exploding stars, colliding comets, DNA based life on Earth – they all connect in the search for extra-terrestrial life. Image - Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech TABLE OF CONTENTS DIRECTOR'S INTRODUCTION STAFF, STUDENTS AND AWARDS Honours & Awards Academic Staff Post-Graduate Students Theses Submitted General Staff RESEARCH ACTIVITIES Earth Chemistry Earth Environment Earth Materials & Processes Earth Physics PRISE IDOP Visiting Fellows RESEARCH SUPPORT Electronics Group Engineering Group PUBLICATIONS Earth Chemistry Earth Environment Earth Materials & Processes Earth Physics PRISE Visiting Fellows NEW GRANTS Australian Research Council Grants Other Grants NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LINKS Collaboration With Australian Universities, CSIRO & Industry International Collaboration Operation With Government And Industry STAFF ACTIVITIES Conferences And Outside Studies Editorial Responsibilities Outreach And Workshops Teaching Activities Honours And Masters Supervision Other Matters Director's Introduction 2009 This is the second year of the augmented Research School of Earth Sciences including the Earth and Marine Sciences Educational Program. A regular traffic proceeds between the Jaeger Building (#61) and the D.A. Brown Building (#47) about ten minutes walk away and it is gratifying to see so many staff engaged with teaching at undergraduate, honours and masters levels. We hope that we can provide the "research-led teaching" that will provide a satisfying and effective experience for our students. The amalgamation of research and teaching functions, for which RSES was a pioneer, has now been accomplished across the whole Science area and the former Faculty has been dissolved. Each of the entities in the College of Physical and Mathematical now has embedded teaching functions. The fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of Geology at ANU was celebrated in April and we were fortunate that the Foundation Professor D.A. Brown was able to come to join the enjoyable proceedings and make a pointed speech. Unfortunately Prof. Brown passed away in early November, but his name continues attached to the main teaching complex for the Earth Sciences. The early part of the year was taken up with preparations for an external Review of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Petrology (interpreted very broadly). We are grateful to the review team of Prof R. Rudnick (University of Maryland), Prof. J. Blundy (University of Bristol), Prof. B. Bourdon (ETH, Zurich), Prof. K. Kyser (Queens University, Canada) and Prof. L: Carter (Victoria University, Wellington, NZ) who spent nearly a week in the School at the end of March having read voluminous material before their arrival. The presentations to the Review were grouped in five major themes that transcended the administrative Research Area boundaries: Cosmochemistry, Isotope Geochemistry, Experimental Petrology, Biogeochemistry and Environmental Geochemistry. The mixed nature of the groups saw some interesting dialogues emerging across the School. The Review Committee was impressed with the quality of work in the School, but provided a number of important suggestions for the future including the importance of maintaining the technical prowess in the School. Many examples of the fine research seen by the Review Committee will be found in the research highlights in this Annual Report. The Natural Hazards Initiative that received seed funding from the Vice-Chancellor to encourage cooperation with the College of Asia and the Pacific is beginning to develop. The Masters in Natural Hazards will start next year, with both science and social science components, coordinated from the RSES side by Dr S. Pozgay. A centre for Natural Hazards has been established to form a focus for activities within the College of Physical Sciences, and across the University, and this is being steered by Dr P. Tregoning. We have also been fortunate to secure agreement from Geoscience Australia for a joint appointment for Prof. P. Cummins from January 2010, who will bring expertise in tsunamis. This will be my last report as Director of the Research School of Earth Sciences. My successor, Prof. A. Roberts from the University of Southampton, will take over the position from February 1. The last three years have seen major changes in the School including major reviews in geophysics and geochemistry and the merger with the Department of Earth and Marine Sciences as a result of their review. The changes have coincided with the development of the College structure within the University and the environment in which the School operates has changed considerably. I hope that it can continue to thrive despite budgetary pressures. B.L.N. Kennett Director, RSES Honours & Awards Professor I.H. Campbell was elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. Mr A. CHOPRA was awarded a $2700 travel grant from the organising committee to present a poster at the 2009 NASA Astrobiology Graduate Conference in Washington, USA. Mr A. CHOPRA was awarded a $3000 travel grant from RSES and a $800 grant from local organising committee to participate in the 2009 International Summer School of Astrobiology in Santander, Spain. Ms T.A. EWING was awarded the Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research prize for Session 18f at Goldschmidt 2009. Mr R. FARLA has received the Paterson Fellowship award 2009. Prof R. GRÜN was promoted to Level E2. Ms Ms E. KISEEVA received an ANU travel grant to attend the Goldschmidt 2009 conference in Davos, Switzerland. Ms J. MAZERAT received the ANU VC’s travel grant to support fieldtrip. Ms J. MAZERAT was awarded a Travel/Conference support by ARCNESS to attend the 8th NCCR International Climate Summer School. Mr J. McDONALD received the Best Student Poster – Hydrogeology Category award at the 10th Australasian Environmental Isotope and 3rd Australasian Hydrogeology Conference, Curtin University, Perth. Emeritus Professor I. McDOUGALL was conferred with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science for his significant contributions to the earth sciences over many years at the University of Glasgow’s Commemoration Day ceremony, 17 June 2009. Dr M.L. RODERICK was awarded the 2009 Australasian Science Prize for research on climate change and water availability. Ms. A. ROSENTHAL received the 2009 Directors award for Scientific Communication, RSES, ANU, September 2009. Prof. M. SAMBRIDGE delivered the 2009 Lansdowne Lecture at the Univ. of Victoria, BC, Canada. Prof. M. SAMBRIDGE was awarded the 2009 Price medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, UK. Mr R. SCHINTEIE received the Vice Chancellor’s Higher Degree Research Student Travel Grant (contribution to attend international conference). Dr S. SOSDIAN received a Distinguished Scholars Fulbright Scholarship for a 1 year appointment at Cardiff University. Dr G.M. YAXLEY was awarded an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship at RSES from 2010. Visiting Fellows Richard Barwick An Antarctic photograph “Hand Chablone” entered on behalf of the Palaegroup RSES in the Gobal warming competition was awarded First Prize in ‘ANU Academics section’ of the ANU Climate Change ‘Capture’ Photographic Competition 2009. Prof K. LAMBECK was elected as a Foreign Associate to the United States National Academy of Sciences. Prof K. LAMBECK was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Prof K. LAMBECK was invited to present the 2009 Clarke Memorial Lecture, Royal Society of New South Wales. Prof S. R. Taylor was admitted as Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in a ceremony at Government House, May 4. Academic Staff Director and Professor B.L.N Kennett, MA PhD ScD Cambridge, FAA, FRS Distinguished Professors: B.L.N Kennett, MA PhD ScD Cambridge, FAA, FRS Professors R.J. Arculus BSC PhD Durham, FAIMM I.H. Campbell, BSc UWA, PhD DIC London S.F. Cox, BSc Tasmania, PhD Monash P. DeDekker BA (Geology) MSc (Hons) Macquarie, PhD DSc Adelaide D.J. Ellis MSc Melbourne, PhD Tasmania N. Exon, BSc (Hons) NSW, PhD Kiel R.W. Griffiths, BSc PhD ANU, FAIP, FAA R. Grün, DiplGeol, Dr.rer.nat.habil Köln, DSc ANU, FAAH T.R. Ireland, BSc Otago, PhD ANU I.N.S. Jackson, BSc Qld, PhD ANU G. Lister, BSc Qld, BSc (Hons) James Cook, PhD ANU M.T. McCulloch, MAppSc WAIT, PhD CalTech, FAA (to 1 July 2009) H.St.C. O'Neill, BA Oxf, PhD Manchester, FAA B.J. Pillans, BSc PhD ANU, HonFRSNZ M.S. Sambridge, BSc Loughborough, PhD ANU, FRAS Senior Fellows V.C. Bennett, BSc PhD UCLA G.F. Davies, MSc Monash, PhD CalTech S. Eggins, BSc UNSW, PhD Tasmania C.M. Fanning, BSc Adelaide M.K. Gagan, BA UCSantaBarbara, PhD James Cook M. Honda, MSc PhD Tokyo R.C Kerr, BSc Qld, PhD Cambridge , FAIP C. Lineweaver, BSc Munich, PhD Berkeley J.A. Mavrogenes, BS Beloit, MS Missouri-Rolla, PhD VirginiaPolyTech D.C. McPhail, BSc. (Hons) MSc British Columbia, PhD. Princeton M. Norman, BS Colorado , PhD Harvard I.S. Williams, BSc PhD ANU G.C. Young BSc (Hons) ANU, PhD London Fellows C. Alibert MS Paris VII, first thesis ENS Paris, State thesis, CRPG, Nancy (from 17 August 2009) Y. Amelin, MSc, PhD Leningrad State University R. Armstrong, BSc MSc Natal, PhD Witwatersrand J.J. Brocks, Dip Freiburg, PhD Sydney J. Hermann, Dip PhD ETH Zürich A.M. Hogg, BSc ANU, PhD UWA G. Hughes, BE ME Auckland, PhD Cambridge B.N. Opdyke, AB Columbia, MS PhD Michigan N. Rawlinson, BSc PhD Monash M.L. Roderick BAppSc QUT, PGDipGIS Qld, Phd Curtin D. Rubatto, BSc MSc Turin, PhD ETH H. Tkalcic, Dip Engineering in Physics, Zagreb, PhD California P. Tregoning, BSurv PhD UNSW G. Yaxley, BSc PhD Tasmania Research Fellows L. Ayliffe, BSc (Hons) Flinders, Graduate Dipolma (Oenology) Adelaide, PhD ANU A.L. Dutton, BA (Mus) Massachusetts, MSc PhD Michigan M. Ellwood, BSc (Hons) Otago, PhD Otago S. Fallon, BA MS San Diego, PhD ANU M. Forster, BSc MSc PhD Monash O. Nebel, Diplom Geololge Dr. rer. nat. Munster, (from 2 March 2009) J. Trotter, BSc MSc Macquarie, PhD ANU (to 1 July 2009) Postdoctoral Fellows: P.